The Canine Health Information
Center, also known as CHIC, is a
centralized canine health database
jointly sponsored by the AKC/Canine
Health Foundation (AKC/CHF) and the
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA).
The CHIC, working with participating
parent clubs, provides a resource
for breeders and owners of purebred
dogs to research and maintain
information on the health issues
prevalent in specific breeds.

The CHIC also maintains a DNA
Bank, co-sponsored by the OFA and
the AKC/CHF, collects and stores
canine DNA samples along with
corresponding genealogic and
phenotypic information to facilitate
future research and testing aimed at
reducing the incidence of inherited
disease in dogs.

Benefits of CHIC?

For
breeders,
CHIC provides a
reliable source of
information
regarding dogs they
may use in their
breeding programs.
In the future,
breeders can begin
to analyze the
pedigrees of a
proposed breeding
for health strengths
and weaknesses as
well the traditional
analysis of
conformation, type,
and performance
strengths and
weaknesses.

For
buyers, the
CHIC program
provides accurate
information about
the results of a
breeder's health
testing. For
diseases that are
limited to
phenotypic
evaluations, there
are no guarantees.
However, the
probability that an
animal will develop
an inherited disease
is reduced when its
ancestry has been
tested normal.
Further, as more DNA
tests become
available and the
results are entered
into CHIC, the CHIC
database will be
able to establish
whether progeny will
be clear, carriers,
or affected.

For
parent clubs
considering
establishment of
health databases on
their own, CHIC
provides the answer
with no upfront
investment required
by the club. The
CHIC infrastructure
is supplied and
maintained by the
OFA. The data is
maintained in a
secure environment
by trained staff.
The services are not
subject to the time,
technology, and
resource constraints
that parent clubs
might face on their
own. This frees
parent clubs to
focus on their core
strengths of
identifying health
concerns, educating
their membership,
and encouraging
participation in the
CHIC program.

For
researchers,
CHIC provides
confidential and
accurate aggregate
information on
multiple generations
of dogs. CHIC
information will
also be useful for
epidemiological
studies enhancing
our knowledge of
health issues
affecting all breeds
of dogs.

For
everyone
interested in canine
health issues, CHIC
is a tool to monitor
disease prevalence
and measure
progress.